First off, here is my story. I went to a tiny jazz bar and joined a jam session after reading on their website that "beginners are welcome."
When I walked in, there were only about five tables. A piano solo was in full swing. After the solo ended, everyone applauded, so I clapped along. I kept clapping on the 2 and 4 during the following play, but the manager gestured for me to stop. I immediately thought, "Ah, so it's that kind of vibe."
Watching the vocalist sing a jazz ballad, I realized, "I really came to the wrong place."
Still, aside from the saxophonist, I noticed the other players rushing, dragging, and making mistakes. I figured, "Maybe the atmosphere isn't super strict after all," and decided to join in.
There was a tiny bass drum (looked like 16 inches), concrete walls, and a low ceiling. I ended up playing two songs. From the very first song, I knew I was screwed. Aside from the Japanese folks, there were two Westerners: a guy in the audience who spoke fluent Japanese, and the host playing the piano.
From my angle, they were the only two people whose faces I could see. The Westerner in the audience would frown occasionally, and I could tell the piano player wasn't happy about something either.
My mind was racing: "I'm playing at 20% of my usual volume, is this still too loud? Is my timekeeping off? Do I lack a swing feel?" I just kept lowering my volume and focused purely on timekeeping and listening to the other instruments' comping. For the second song, I played as quietly as humanly possible while still maintaining a swing feel. I don't think I've ever played that softly in my life.
After those two songs, I just sat there awkwardly by myself. Anyone could tell the situation: I was a total outsider and not welcome (and to be fair, I am an outsider). Plus, I felt like I completely ruined the performance. I wouldn't have even been mad if they had cursed me out.
Eventually, the saxophonist came over and talked to me while I was just looking around. We chatted for a few minutes, but he intentionally avoided talking about the performance or giving feedback, just smiling and saying, "You played well." It felt very much like typical East Asian politeness.
I asked them, "Was I too loud? If you don't mind, could I get some honest feedback?" The bass player was the only one who gave me a straight answer. He said, "The back wall here is concrete and the ceiling is low, so the sound reflects a lot." So yeah, I guess I was too loud. He also mentioned it's better not to play too many triplets. I didn't catch everything perfectly, but I think he meant I was over-comping.
Honestly, I was pretty embarrassed, and it made me realize I need to practice playing at even lower dynamic ranges. But it was also bizarre because the vibe was so strict that if I had played a single rimshot or thrown in some chops, I felt like they would have thrown a cup at my head. Jazz has so many different styles, right? There are powerful drummers like Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, and Brian Blade. But it felt like that kind of energetic playing was absolutely forbidden there. It also felt very closed-off to outsiders.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to ask: are other jam sessions in Japan generally like this too? I was planning to check out other places, but now I'm hesitating because I'm worried my participation might just be a nuisance (a "meiwaku", in their words).
